Aramaic word · H1541

גְּלָא

gale'

to reveal

To uncover or reveal, bringing something hidden into the open. The same root (g-l-y/g-l-h) also gives the words for 'exile' and 'deportation'. In Daniel the group noun 'gālûtāʾ', 'the exiles', describes Daniel himself: 'a man among the exiles of Judah' (2:25).

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 9 times in 8 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to reveal

1a) (P'al) to reveal (secrets), be revealed

1b) (Aphel) to take into exile

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Daniel 2:47

Range of meaning

To uncover or reveal, bringing something hidden into the open. The same root (g-l-y/g-l-h) also gives the words for 'exile' and 'deportation'. In Daniel the group noun 'gālûtāʾ', 'the exiles', describes Daniel himself: 'a man among the exiles of Judah' (2:25).

Against the English

Every major English version says 'reveal(er)', which is accurate. BSB capitalizes 'the Revealer of Mysteries' as a divine title. That reflects how the phrase works, but the Aramaic has no capital letters and no article.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same verb occurs in Daniel 2:19 ('the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night'), 2:22 ('he reveals deep and hidden things'), 2:28–30 and 2:47. In Ezra 4:10 and 5:12 the causative form means 'deported'. That is the exile sense of the same root.

From the study of Daniel 2:19

Range of meaning

To uncover or reveal; in another verb pattern, to deport or carry into exile (Ezra 4:10; 5:12). The Hebrew relative gālâ has the same double range: 'uncover' and 'go into exile' (in the sense of being stripped from the land).

Against the English

'Revealed' is accurate. The Aramaic picture is more physical: something covered has its covering taken off.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Daniel 2 it occurs at 2:19, 22 ('he reveals deep and hidden things'), 28, 29, 30, 47 ('a revealer of mysteries'). In Biblical Aramaic the same root also describes Judah's exile (Ezra 5:12), and Daniel himself is called 'one of the sons of the exile (gālûtāʾ) of Judah' (2:25; 5:13).

From the study of Daniel 2:22

Range of meaning

In Aramaic: to uncover, reveal, bring into the open. (A causative form means 'to deport', a sense shared with the Hebrew cognate galah, 'uncover' or 'go into exile'.) In Daniel 2 it is always used for disclosing hidden knowledge: 2:19, 22, 28, 29, 30, 47.

Against the English

All the main English versions say 'reveal(s)', which is accurate. English loses the participle's sense of an ongoing trait: closer to 'he is the one who reveals' or 'the revealer of'. YLT's 'He is revealing' keeps the form but sounds odd.

Used elsewhere in the period

Job 12:22 (Hebrew) is very close: 'He uncovers (megalleh) deep things out of darkness, and brings deep darkness to light.' The same psalm-like list in Job 12 also has God removing kings (12:18), the exact pairing of Daniel 2:21–22. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, God 'uncovering' a hidden mystery (raz) to his chosen ones is a central idea (e.g. 1QpHab 7; 1QS 11).

Where it appears

Ezra · 2

  1. Ezra 4:10 הַגְלִי֙ he took into exile

    and the rest of the peoples whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and elsewhere west of the Euphrates.

  2. Ezra 5:12 הַגְלִ֥י he took into exile

    But since our fathers angered the God of heaven, He delivered them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean who destroyed this temple and carried away the people to Babylon.

Daniel · 7

  1. Daniel 2:19 גֲלִ֑י it was revealed

    During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven

    Here: 'Was uncovered/revealed'. The basic picture is uncovering, taking off a covering. The passive form does not name who did it, but verses 22, 28 and 47 make clear that God is the revealer.

  2. Daniel 2:22 גָּלֵ֥א [is] revealing

    He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

    Here: A participle ('is revealing'), describing what God habitually does rather than a single past act. The picture is of removing a cover. This is the key verb of the chapter: the mystery 'was revealed' to Daniel (2:19), and God is the 'revealer of mysteries' (2:28, 29, 47).

  3. Daniel 2:28 גָּלֵ֣א [who] reveals

    But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:

    Here: An active participle ('revealing', 'a revealer of'), describing what this God habitually does, not just a one-off act. Its root picture is uncovering something hidden; verse 29 turns it into a title, 'the Revealer of mysteries'.

  4. Daniel 2:29 וְגָלֵ֧א and [one who] reveals

    As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen.

  5. Daniel 2:30 גֱּלִ֣י it has been revealed

    And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

  6. Daniel 2:47 וְגָלֵ֣ה לְמִגְלֵ֖א and [one who] reveals, to reveal

    The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

    Here: 'And revealer.' The participle names a standing role: God is one who uncovers. The king repeats Daniel's own words from 2:22 and 2:28.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.